When the warranty ran out on my 2005 BMW 525i I started looking for my next car. I immediately started building my own Camaro at Chevrolet.com. I considered another car for a minute…but it was a quick minute as I was always drawn back to the Camaro. I couldn't be happier with my purchase and even today (one year later) I still get a thrill out of starting my car and taking her for a drive. Shout out to SoCal Camaro5 for their comradrerie, especially 2011Camaro and ChargedCamaro for helping with several mods!

Here is my 2011 Imperial Blue Metallic 2LT/RS Camaro. Built on March 11, 2011. Purchased on June 16, 2011. A list of all my current mods since my purchase are below these pics.

First things first, she needed tint on all windows. About 5 months after I had her tinted I got pulled over in Bakersfield by CSUB Police and received my first and only ticket in my Camaro. (Knock on wood) I had the tint removed, drove to the Sherrif's office and had the ticket signed off on and then drove back to my tint guy to have it put back on. It's a risk you take tinting the front windows...but it's worth it!

I also wanted to remove the chrome bezels...this was before I heard of plastidip! So I ordered these in flat black.

After looking at dozens and dozens of body kits and spoiler and diffusers, I settled on what I believe to the best out there. Though I read a few complaints about the fitment of the Havoc Spoiler I gave it a shot and it turned out beautiful! My body shop did some minor adjustments before painting.

I wanted to do something with the Gills. They are NOT my favorite element of the 5th Gen so I initially used some black vinyl to make them pop, but that didn't work on the IBM color. You could barely see the vinyl. So I went a little more aggressive and installed Xenon Body Scoops over them. Again, my body shop had to do some minor shaping to the pieces before paint, but I think they turned out beautifully! To highlight the scoops I added Pulse Red Accent Stripes above the kickers as well as Hood Spears. I really wanted to do something different with color choice so I stayed away from Black, White and Silver. It is probably the mod I get the most compliments on...though I know it is a love it or hate it piece.

EDIT: February 2013 - Covered the red stripes with Matte Black Vinyl for a new look.

Prior to the Rear Black Fascia I tried a Chrome Bowtie, and then a custom painted Bowtie...after seeing the black vinyl on another C5 Member's car on the forum I pulled the trigger and went for it. Probably my favorite simple mod! I had also been thinking about wheels since I purchased her and I scoured the threads here. Though I liked the TSW Doningtons and the Black Chrome Havocs, I looked into having my RS rims powdercoated black. The cost was about $600. After seeing my buddy Donny Brad's Camaro in person and asking him where he got his wheels done, he mentioned plastidip. And then he mentioned $25. Sign me up! Can't go wrong. And if you don't like it you can simply peal it off and it only cost you $25.

I don't recall where I initially saw the Technostalgia LED Rapid Fire Tail Lights at, but I knew I had to have them. Not just because they are simple eye-catchers, but because driving to Los Angeles and back to San Diego I really appreciate the Rapid Fire action when you step on the brakes and thought it would prevent a few fender benders. (You know how us Californians drive!) After installing them I would notice people driving behind me pointing at them so I know it got the attention it deserved.

The rest of my lighting is made by Oracle and includes LED Sidemarkers, LED Interior Lights, LED License Plate Lights, ColorSHIFT 2.0 Halos, ColorSHIFT 2.0 Fog Halos, ColorSHIFT 2.0 Grille Illumination Kits, and Plasma Fogs.

So many to choose from! For me, the cost and sound of the MRTv2.0 was a simple choice.

Then came the question...short or long tubes? I originally ordered the BBK Chrome Longtubes with a wait time of 2-3 weeks. That turned into 6-8 weeks and so I called to see what the problem was. They simply could not provide a real timeframe of when the chrome long tubes would be available...though they happened to have two sets of 304 Stainless Steel Longtubes...one in California and one in Florida. I paid the up-charge if they promised to ship same day. Being in California (and down the freeway from San Diego) they had to ship to Texas and then ship back to me in San Diego (gotta love California). My buddy David (2011Camaro) kindly helped me install the BBKs...the sound is much louder and deeper and I love it!

I had originally installed a T-Rex Upper Class Chrome Layover Grille...but I just could not convince myself to go with a chrome theme...so I replaced it with the color matched IBM Heritage Grille (debugged). I added the Street Scene Lower Grille with Ducts as I think it matches the Heritage Grille better than the stock and gives it a bit more aggressive look.

I know this may not be part of my Camaro's Build but it is how my Camaro made some new friends! Since moving to San Diego (just 2 days after buying my Camaro) I started to get involved on C5 and particularly in the California Section. I organized a group of 25 Camaro's to attend RaceLegal under the banner of SoCal Camaro5. I also planned two very successful cruises (Cinco de Camaro, and Palomar Fun Run) the first of which we had 22 Camaros show-up and the second we had 36! Working on the third event...but here is a little something something from the recent events.